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Individual Leadership Project
Niesha Davis
Yorkville University
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Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Analysis........................................................................................................................................... 3
Effective Leadership ................................................................................................................... 3
Steve Ballmer .............................................................................................................................. 6
Mark Cuban vs. Steve Ballmer ................................................................................................... 8
Self Assessment .......................................................................................................................... 8
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Reference ...................................................................................................................................... 10
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Introduction
Individuals with strong leadership qualities have a huge impact on the performance of a
business. A Chief Executive Officer is an organization’s leader and visionary. An effective
leader knows how to “inspire individuals to achieve common goals” (Judge, Langton, &
Robbins, 2013, p. 395) which are in the best interest of any organization. Effective leaders have
the power to define a company’s culture and induce a “change in values, attitudes and behavior
using personal examples and expertise” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 396). These are all
important tributes of a leader because “employees do not respect a leader who they feel is not the
best person for the job” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). This paper examines the
traits of an effective leader, and explores the leadership styles of Mark Cuban, CEO of the Dallas
Mavericks, Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft and the learner’s self assessment of
leadership.
Analysis
Effective Leadership
Key traits that are commonly found in effective leaders are extraversion,
conscientiousness and openness (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). Extraverted leaders
enjoy communicating with people and often moderately assert themselves in groups making
them accessible to all stakeholders (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). A lot of leaders
are inaccessible to workplace level subordinates but a successful leader knows the value of open
communication. Being conscientious and open means that the leader is disciplined, keeps to
their commitments, they’re creative and flexible (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013).
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Another great leadership trait is emotional intelligence. Employees respond favorably to
a leader who is empathic towards them (Hose, M., 2012). Empathic leaders care about their
employees, and in turn employees are loyal which is valuable during turbulent times (Judge,
Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398).
Mark Cuban
Throughout Mark’s career, he has exhibited innate charismatic leadership qualities and
extraverted personality traits. Exhibiting extraverted personality traits is “the most important
trait of effective leaders”(Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 398). Mark has a great
understanding of supply and demand so his business ventures are often rooted in “finding big
problems” (Carlson, 2012) and capitalizing on the solutions.
Leading without Authority. Mark Cuban’s early work experiences include his informal
leadership, which was not embraced by senior executives. Mark demonstrated that he wanted to
assume responsibilities beyond anyone’s expectations to make things better at the company by
not “waiting for the coach’s call” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013). For example, Cuban took
it upon himself to create company newsletters so that all staff would be up to date with events
within the company (The Biography Channel, 2014). Cuban also organized a regular happy hour
night, which allowed entry-level staff to network with senior executives (The Biography
Channel, 2014). The company could have utilized Mark’s leadership by using his lack of
authority to get closer to specific issues with stakeholders but instead they reprimanded him for
overstepping his boundaries (The Biography Channel, 2014). According to Timothy Judge et al.
(2013) some organizations prefer to suppress this kind of leadership (p. 413).
Charismatic Leadership. Mark Cuban’s current leadership style falls in line with
charismatic leadership theory. According to Timothy Judge et al. (2013) a charismatic leaders
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“have a vision, they are willing to take personal risks to achieve that vision, they are sensitive to
followers' needs and they exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary" (p.406). Mark Cuban
had a vision for the Dallas Mavericks when he bought them in 2000 to turn things around for the
team (The Biography Channel, 2014).
Mark Cuban is often on the lookout to fulfill the needs of all stakeholders. He tries to
create “more value with the team than mere money” by incurring extra costs just to enhance the
“Mavericks experience” (Blodget, 2013).
Mark also constantly defends the performances of his players, especially after game
losses and often disputes any negative feedback from the presses. In January 2014, Forbes
Magazine’s appraised value of the Mavericks was $750 million to which Mark responded, “I
think we’re worth well over a billion” (Sefko, 2014). Cuban continued his optimistic vision by
suggesting that all NBA teams would be worth a billion in the next five years (Sefko, 2014).
The fourth key trait of charismatic leadership style is extraordinary behavior (Judge,
Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 406). Mark Cuban is well known for his over-the-top behavior
and was recently fined $100 000 for confronting referees after a losing game (NBA, 2014). He’s
paid over a two million dollars in fines of the same nature (NBA, 2014). This behavior also
indicates that Mark Cuban is an authentic leader. Timothy Judge (2013) suggests that authentic
leaders “know who they are, know what they believe in and value, and act on those values and
beliefs openly and candidly” (p. 417).
Emotional Intelligence. By focusing on the fans’ needs and placing value in his players,
Cuban used his strong emotional intelligence and extraverted personality to submerge himself in
the fan experience in order to identify the fans’ needs. Mark Cuban asserts himself in crowds by
sitting with the fans, and unlike other CEOs, writes a blog to keep the fans informed of team
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information. Mark explores the consumers at concessions stands, line-ups for the washrooms, all
aspects of the fan experience in order to identify any needs he could improve on. This is an
empathic quality that stems from his strong emotional intelligence.
Performance of Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban’s interest in the Mavericks began as a frustrated season ticketholder (The
Biography Channel, 2014). The team hadn’t made the play offs in over a decade due to “poor
personnel decisions and mediocre players and coaches” (The Biography Channel, 2014). Mark
purchased the team and began to change the entire organizational culture. Within a year, the
team made it to the play offs and broke their team wins record. In 2006, the team made it to the
NBA finals but lost, however, they eventually won the NBA title in 2011 (The Biography
Channel, 2014). According to Nancy Langton et al. (2013) effective leaders are innovative and
“formulate long-term objectives” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013) for the organization. The
Mavericks responded favorably to Mark’s charismatic leadership style, therefore he is a great
leader with proven results.
Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft. He retired in February 2014, and his
predecessor is Bill Gates who stepped down in January 2000. Prior to Ballmer’s position as
CEO, he worked closely with Gates as the president of the company since 1998. Ballmer was
the thirtieth employee of Microsoft and had worked in several operations positions before his
CEO reign.
Charismatic Leadership. Steve Ballmer is also well known for his charismatic
leadership style. His infamous “developer dance” has drawn younger generations to his fan base,
which makes him somewhat of a transformational leader as well. Charismatic leaders like
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Ballmer typically possess unconventional behavior and “demonstrate courage and convictions
about the vision” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013, p. 407). Timothy Judge (2013) suggests
that there is a dark side to a charismatic leader: the liability (p. 408). A charismatic leader’s
“overwhelming self-confidence” can result in stubbornness the inability to listen to others
(Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013).
Employee Relationship. Steve Ballmer’s tumultuous relationship with Microsoft
employees dates back to when he sold half of his company stock (then, four percent) and
removed employee stock options. Since then, Ballmer did many things that forced employees to
be more “political”. This included a review system that ranked each person’s performance. Top
performers would receive bonuses and low ranking performers would be terminated (Finkelstein,
2013). Some would say that Steve Ballmer created a negative culture by reducing incentives for
top performers to work together by making the competition so stiff (Finkelstein, 2013).
Microsoft Performance. Many attribute the decline of Microsoft to Steve Ballmer’s
stubborn attitude towards capitalizing on multiple lucrative tech markets including smart phones,
music players and tablets (Hartung, 2012). Instead, Ballmer suggested that Microsoft was
strictly a personal computer company, and his outlook also stymied the growth of associated
brands like Dell, Hewlett Packard and even Nokia (Hartung, 2012). Ballmer even criticized
Apple for it’s Iphone and pricing, stating that it would never work out for them. Timothy Judge
suggests that charismatic leaders like Steve Ballmer sometimes hold an “unjustifiable belief in
his or her ‘rightness’ on issues”(p. 408), which is what hindered the growth and competitive
performance of the company. According to Forbes Magazine, Steve Ballmer is “the worst CEO
of a large publicly traded American company” (Hartung, 2012). The value of Microsoft’ stock
has dropped from sixty dollars per share down to thirty and the market share decreased from 604
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billion to 269 billion (Farber, 2013) (Hartung, 2012). Steve Ballmer may have attributed to the
growth of Microsoft in past years, but his stubborn attitude and unwillingness to adapt to market
trends makes him a bad leader.
Mark Cuban vs. Steve Ballmer
Mark Cuban has proven to be a far more effective leader than Steve Ballmer. Though
they both possess a charismatic leadership style, Ballmer appears to be the type of CEO that
Mark Cuban encountered in his early career; the type that Mark Cuban thinks of as a mentor.
Mark makes decisions based on the opposite of what he thinks those CEOs would do (The
Biography Channel, 2014). Ballmer’s leadership resulted in a thriving business’s downfall
whereas Cuban’s leadership reversed the downfall of a team. One employee of Microsoft was
quoted in an article stating that “Steve Ballmer is the wrong guy for a job” (Blodget H., 2013).
As noted above, if a team does not respect their leader’s expertise, they aren’t going to be loyal;
hence the quote. Steve Ballmer has topped multiple lists titled, “the worst CEOs” (Hartung,
2012).
Self Assessment
In recent years, the leadership styles required to effectively lead a Fortune 500 company
have changed a lot. As Steve Ballmer’s experience would indicate, emotional intelligence is
important in staying on top of the industry. Having a vision and being open to new ideas
definitely proved to work better in the long run.
Charismatic leadership is more important now than in the past because content employees
are far more productive and contribute to a positive organizational climate (Groysberg, B., &
Connolly, K., 2013).
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The learner has reached an understanding through her studies that there is more to
leadership than knowledge; Steve Ballmer is a very intelligent person but that did not induce
growth in Microsoft’s market share. High emotional intelligence is becoming more and more
beneficial in the workforce, even though some employers are not aware of this. Through
studying organizational behavior the learner has developed a new found appreciation for her
strong emotional intelligence, ability to motivate and her innate charismatic qualities.
The learner has shared employer experiences similar to Mark Cuban’s during her career
path. Her ability to identify problems and come up with solutions has always served her well in
her career, and has typically resulted in extrinsic rewards. Though some companies prefer to
suppress this initiative, learning that Mark Cuban experienced the same backlash suggests she
has the right mind set to be a successful charismatic leader of a Fortune 500 company.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an effective leader is an essential component of a successful business. The
most common traits found in flourishing businesses are extraversion, conscientiousness and
openness (Judge, Langton, & Robbins, 2013). An effective leader will move towards creating an
environment that facilitates growth, opportunity for the company and loyalty. Effective leaders
have the power to define a company’s organizational culture and induce a “change in values,
attitudes and behavior using personal examples and expertise” (Judge, Langton, & Robbins,
2013, p. 396).
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Reference
Blodget, H. (2013, February 01). Former Microsoft Employee Says Steve Ballmer Must Go.
Retrieved March 23, 2014, from The Daily Ticker: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/dailyticker/former-microsoft-employee-says-steve-ballmer-must-175526168.html
Blodget, H. (2013, August 16). Mark Cuban's Philosophy About the Mavericks Should be an
Inspiration For Every Great Business Leader. Retrieved from Forbes:
http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cubans-business-philosophy-2013-8
Carlson, N. (2012, December 2). 20 Quotes That Reveal How Mark Cuban Became Everyone's
Favorite Billionaire Read more: . Retrieved from Business Insider:
http://www.businessinsider.com/20-quotes-that-reveal-how-mark-cuban-becameeveryones-favorite-billionaire-2012-12?op=1#ixzz2wl3rW54t
Farber, D. (2013, August 06). Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and the parting of the ways. Retrieved
March 23, 2014, from CNET: http://www.cnet.com/news/bill-gates-steve-ballmer-andthe-parting-of-the-ways/
Finkelstein, S. (2013, December 12). The worst CEOs of 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from
BBC: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20131212-the-worst-ceos-of-2013
Groysberg, B., & Connolly, K. (2013). Great Leaders Who Make the Mix Work. (cover story).
Harvard Business Review, 91(9), 68-10.
Hartung, A. (2012, May 12). Oops! Five CEOs Who Should Have Already Been Fired (Cisco,
GE, WalMart, Sears, Microsoft). Retrieved March 23, 2014, from Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/05/12/oops-5-ceos-that-should-havealready-been-fired-cisco-ge-walmart-sears-microsoft/3/
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Hose, M. (2012). Empathy and themagic of influence. Marketing Week (01419285), 35(8),
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Judge, T. A., Langton, N., & Robbins, S. P. (2013). Organizational Behaviour: Concepts,
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NBA. (2014, January 14). Mark Cuban fined $100K for confronting officials after game.
Retrieved from NBA.com: http://www.nba.com/2014/news/01/18/mavs-owner-cubanfined/
Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., McHugh, S. M., Cossa, R., & Sproule, B. (2010).
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The Biography Channel. (2014). Mark Cuban. Retrieved 03 19, 2014, from Biography:
http://www.biography.com/people/mark-cuban-562656?page=2